BERN.- Existentially charged depictions of animals, life in heightened reality, and digital worlds: in 2027, the Kunstmuseum Bern invites visitors to immerse themselves in pictorial universes of remarkable diversity. The exhibition year opens with the first comprehensive presentation in Switzerland of the vibrant paintings of Franz Marc, which are among the most famous works of modern art. With [ENTER HERE]. Digital Worlds, the museum presents its first exhibition dedicated to immersive digital art. The highlight in the autumn is the first major presentation of the French artist Camille Bombois in Switzerland. The programme is complemented by three thematic focuses drawn from the collection.

A blue horse, a yellow cow, a purple fox: the vibrant colours of Franz Marc’s (1880–1916) animal paintings are captivating to this day. For Marc, the fateful and existential dimension of being was condensed in animals, which is expressed in exemplary form in his works. From 26 February to 4 July 2027, the Kunstmuseum Bern is presenting Franz Marc. The Quest for a Better World, the first comprehensive exhibition of the Expressionist artist in Switzerland. Around eighty works invite visitors to rediscover the œuvre of this co-founder of Der Blaue Reiter, created in the course of a short yet remarkably productive artistic career.

[ENTER HERE]. Digital Worlds, the first exhibition devoted to digital art at the Kunstmuseum Bern, brings the narrative to the present day: from 9 April until 22 August 2027, ten space-filling installations, including video games, immersive environments and video projections, invite visitors to immerse themselves in utopian designs for the world and to experience alternative realities.

The direct and unpretentious paintings of the French artist Camille Bombois (1883–1970) are characterised by a particular narrative power. His cabaret scenes and symbolically condensed landscapes and situations from everyday life move between a heightened reality and imagination. From 13 August 2027 until 9 January 2028, the artist’s unique pictorial language can be experienced for the first time in Switzerland in the exhibition Camille Bombois. The Spectacle of Life.

From the collection

The collection of the Kunstmuseum Bern is one of the most important collections of art in Switzerland, and is marked by a variety of associated foundations with important holdings. The programme for 2027 includes special presentations devoted to two of these foundations: in spring, a cabinet-style presentation offers an intimate encounter with the excessive artistic universe of Adolf W�lfli (1864–1930). In summer, some thirty works will provide a glimpse into the collection of the Anne-Marie and Victor Loeb-Stiftung, which brings together first-class works from Constructivism and the post-war avant-garde, including works by artists such as Jean Tinguely, Louise Nevelson and George Rickey.

From late September, a presentation of the collection will show aspects of Swiss modern art. Apart from the big names of Ferdinand Hodler, Cuno Amiet and Giovanni Giacometti, it will include artists from Switzerland, and from Bern in particular, who are due a rediscovery.

Franz Marc. The Quest for a Better World
26.2.–4.7.2027

A blue horse is gazing into the distance; a yellow cow is leaping through the air: anyone who has seen the vibrant paintings of Franz Marc (1880–1916) will remember them. With Franz Marc. The Quest for a Better World, the Kunstmuseum Bern presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of the artist and co-founder of the Der Blaue Reiter in Switzerland.

Marc’s works are among the key works of German Expressionism, and some of the most noted masterpieces of modern art. Featuring around eighty paintings, works on paper, and sculptures from national and international collections, the exhibition traces the artist’s career, which lasted only a few years but was extraordinarily productive, in all its diversity. It thus offers a unique overview of his œuvre – from the early iconic depictions of animals to the late, increasingly abstract compositions. Marc’s animal paintings, in particular, continue to exert a powerful aesthetic and emotional impact to this day: they evoke the existential and fateful dimensions of our existence and thus refer to a profound human longing for a connection with nature.

[ENTER HERE]. Digital Worlds
9.4.–22.8.2027

Becoming part of another world, creating a new identity for oneself, merging with a utopia or avoiding a dystopia: With [ENTER HERE]. Digital Worlds, the Kunstmuseum Bern is showing for the first time a thematic exhibition on immersive digital art. Ten positions from international artists and artists’ collectives from the past seven years provide an insight into artistic creation with new media such as video games, video projections or hybrid installations. They design different worlds, create new identities, long for alternative life forms or suggest possible ways out of social and ecological crises.

The works on display reflect the variety of approaches with which artists open up new spaces and test out new identities in an everyday life shaped by technology and digitality. The universes thus produced create the possibility of immersive engagement with central questions of our time and serve as tools to rethink digital and physical realities.

Camille Bombois. The Spectacle of Life
13.8.2027–9.1.2028

Cabaret, nature, work, everyday life – in his paintings, French artist Camille Bombois (1883–1970) devoted himself to the great scenes of human life. He thus created a pictorial world between heightened reality and imagination. His works combine careful observation with dreamlike landscape compositions, and are marked by a particular narrative power.

With Camille Bombois. The Spectacle of Life, the Kunstmuseum Bern is showing the first major exhibition devoted to Camille Bombois in Switzerland. Some eighty paintings give a comprehensive insight into Bombois’ diverse œuvre. In thematic chapters, the exhibition develops the different facets of his work, from cabaret scenes via landscapes and everyday situations to representations of labour, physicality and nature. The presentation invites visitors to rediscover an artist whose unique pictorial language remains fascinating to this day.

From the collection
Adolf W�lfli. Writer, poet, draftsman, composer
13.4.–25.7.2027

It was not until the age of 35 that Adolf W�lfli (1864–1930) turned to art at Waldau Psychiatric Hospital. In his small cell there, the traumatised handyman worked tirelessly as a draftsman, composer and writer on his Skt. Adolf=Riesen=Sch�pfung, which would unfold over 25’000 pages. He weaved coloured pencil drawings, lines of music and whirling prose together into an intoxicating work of art, without a millimetre of free space. W�lfli thus created an œuvre unique in the art of the 20th century, whose poetic power continues to move us to this day. The cabinet-like show by the Adolf W�lfli-Stiftung condenses this powerful universe into an intimate encounter.

Showcase. Insights into the Collection of the Loeb-Stiftung
31.8.2027–6.2.2028

The collection of the Anne-Marie and Victor Loeb-Stiftung includes around 350 outstanding works by Swiss and international artists from Constructivism and the post-war avant-garde. It has been held as a permanent loan at the Kunstmuseum Bern since 1980. The nearly thirty works on display, by artists such as Jean Tinguely, Louise Nevelson and George Rickey, offer compelling testimony to the openness and passion with which Anne-Marie and Victor Loeb followed the artistic developments of their time and built their collection. What once came about in dialogue with the contemporary art scene now opens itself up once again to the dialogue between the works and with the audience.

Hodler, Amiet, Giacometti & Co. Aspects of Swiss Modern Art from the Collection
From 24 September 2027

Ferdinand Hodler, Cuno Amiet, Giovanni Giacometti: together they form the big three in the Swiss artistic firmament of the late 19th and early 20th century. The exhibition of works from the collection, Hodler, Amiet, Giacometti & Co. Aspects of Swiss Modern Art from the Collection, shows which other artists, aside from these three prominent figures, were also part of the Swiss art scene, and the Bern art scene in particular, during the first decades of the 20th century. It presents visitors with a tour d’horizon that combines the big names with Swiss modern artists that are due for rediscovery.